PayPal plans layoffs in Israel amid wider restructuring effort
Local development center employs hundreds of engineers and data scientists.
Payment giant PayPal, which operates a development center in Tel Aviv, is preparing to lay off dozens of employees, Calcalist has learned.
According to estimates, the move is part of a broader global round of cuts, with the Israeli operation expected to be affected as well. PayPal’s Israeli site currently employs between 200 and 250 workers, most of them data scientists and software engineers. In addition to cybersecurity systems, the local teams also develop core components of the company’s user experience and mobile applications.
PayPal’s development center in Israel is considered one of the company’s key technological and strategic hubs, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity, fraud prevention and risk management. The Israeli operation was largely built through a series of acquisitions of local startups, led by the purchase of Fraud Sciences in 2008 for approximately $169 million.
Earlier this year, PayPal announced the acquisition of Cymbio, a Tel Aviv-based commerce technology company that helps brands distribute their product catalogs across a growing array of AI-driven shopping interfaces.
Deal terms were not disclosed, but it was estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Today, the center develops artificial intelligence systems designed to analyze billions of transactions in real time, identify fraudulent activity and help prevent money laundering worldwide.
PayPal said in response: “Israel remains an important market for the company, and we will continue to invest here in the coming years.”
